Education Law

5th Circuit: Gov’t. Must Notify Workers of Fridge Cleaning

Weighing in on an important workplace issue that has undoubtedly vexed many an employee nationwide, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reportedly rendered an opinion that determines the constitutionality of government office refrigerator cleaning. No longer can a government employer simply clean out the office refrigerator…

Nov 15, 2007 9:40 PM CST

Shock, Security Concerns After Finland School Shootings

As Finland observed a national day of mourning today for the eight victims of yesterday’s high school shooting, the country’s legislature met in emergency session to consider imposing stepped-up school security measures. Although the country has the third-highest amount of per-capita gun ownership in the world, violent crime is rare…

Nov 8, 2007 5:24 PM CST

Squeezing Student by Throat Constitutional

A Georgia teacher who grabbed a 14-year-old boy by the throat and squeezed his neck as he tried to leave her classroom did not violate the youth’s civil rights, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the teacher’s action, which left bruises,…

Nov 7, 2007 4:32 PM CST

Princeton Funding Dispute Headed for Trial

Princeton University has failed to win a key pretrial ruling in a suit that seeks return a gift now valued at $880 million. The children of the late Charles and Marie Robertson say the school didn’t spend the money as their parents intended—to train students for international government service. They…

Oct 26, 2007 1:55 PM CDT

School Board Member Gives Up Adopted Kid

It isn’t just ordinary parents who sometimes find themselves unable to cope with the extreme demands placed on them by a troubled, potentially violent child. A member of the Pinellas County School Board, near St. Petersburg, Florida, told attendees at a recent state legislative committee hearing that she is going…

Oct 23, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

Schoolyard Bully Costs FL School $4M

In a verdict that should serve as a warning to school administrators elsewhere, a Florida jury has ordered a private school to pay $4 million to a 12-year-old whose arm was broken by a school bully. The incident has left the now 16-year-old victim with a permanent injury that prevents…

Oct 23, 2007 9:13 PM CDT

Court Declines Tuition Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused cert in a case that could have given the justices an opportunity to rule on the requirements for tuition reimbursement for disabled children. At issue is whether school districts must pay private tuition for disabled children if they don’t first attend public schools. The…

Oct 15, 2007 3:53 PM CDT

New Case Could Break Tie in Tuition Ruling

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s recusal left the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 yesterday in a decision interpreting federal law on tuition reimbursement for special-needs kids. The split had the effect of upholding a federal appeals court ruling requiring New York to pay private school costs for a child with attention…

Oct 11, 2007 11:10 AM CDT

Supreme Court Splits On Private Tuition

A Viacom executive will be able to get tuition reimbursement for his special-needs child because of a 4-4 split by the U.S. Supreme Court today. The split upholds a ruling by the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed reimbursement even though the parents had not…

Oct 10, 2007 2:32 PM CDT

Scalia Ponders Paid Tuition for the ‘Well-Heeled’

Supreme Court justices appear to favor an interpretation of a federal law that makes it more difficult for parents to get tuition reimbursement for their special-needs children, the New York Sun reports. At issue is a federal law that requires cities to reimburse parents for private-school tuition if their child…

Oct 2, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Judge Orders Breastfeeding Breaks

A Massachusetts appellate judge has ruled a Harvard med student should get more break time during a clinical licensing exam so she can pump breast milk. Student Sophie Currier had claimed she needed an extra hour of breaks during the two-day exam. Judge Gary Katzmann agreed that the allotted 45…

Sep 27, 2007 3:28 PM CDT

Discipline Study: Schools Unfair to Blacks

Nationwide statistics show that African-American students are disciplined far more than they should be, based on their percentage in the overall public school population. Yet the federal office charged with investigating such discipline disparities doesn’t seem to be focusing on the issue. “In every state but Idaho … black students…

Sep 25, 2007 3:27 PM CDT

Judge: No Test Breaks for Breastfeeding

A Harvard University medical student about to begin her residency has lost a court case seeking extra time to pump breast milk while she takes a national clinical knowledge exam. While it will be inconvenient for Sophie Currier to pump breast milk in the total 45 minutes of scheduled breaks…

Sep 19, 2007 6:54 PM CDT

March on Jena Protests Justice System

A civil rights march tomorrow expected to draw tens of thousands to a tiny central Louisiana town isn’t just about perceived injustice concerning six black high school students. It’s about the way African-Americans have been treated by the American justice system throughout the history of this country, writes Leonard Pitts…

Sep 19, 2007 4:20 PM CDT

Panel Allots Blame for Va. Tech Massacre

A lack of communication, misunderstood medical privacy laws and inadequate mental health treatment options share the blame along with gunman Seung Hui Cho for a shooting spree in which he killed 32 fellow students and faculty at Virginia Tech earlier this year before killing himself Those were the conclusions of…

Aug 31, 2007 3:04 PM CDT